Football | Lake Zurich confident in winning formula

Bears football team proud of history but not dwelling on past

Lake Zurich's football coach made the following statement last week, but it has applied to each of the last eight Bears teams.

"We're not going to throw fear into anybody in terms of size or stats," Dave Proffitt said, "but we think we'll be a pretty good football team."

August means the start of high school football, and like it has been for the better part of the last decade, Lake Zurich's sum figures to once again be better than its parts.

With a 72-19 record, a state championship and three state finals appearances since 2006, Lake Zurich is extremely proud of its recent history, but its focus is clearly on the present and future.

Last season's trip to the state finals ended with a 19-13 loss to Glenbard West in the Class 7A semifinals, but there is no talk in Bears camp about what might have been.

"It is over," Proffitt said. "We do not dwell on the past. We only focus on the present and the future. What happened happened. We can't do anything about it now, we so don't talk about it at all."

A typically stout defense and the running of Connor Schrader keyed last season's 10-3 team, and while Schrader moved on to Northern Michigan University, six players who started last season return to the defense.

The unit will be led by 6-foot-1, 215-pound inside linebacker Colton Moskal, who orally committed to Syracuse in June.

Undersized defensive linemen have become a Lake Zurich staple, and Proffitt has two good ones in Nico McNeil and Chris Lehtinen, both of whom check in at under 6 feet and 200 pounds.

Sean Lynch and Matt Moon return in the secondary, while Sam Walstrum will play inside linebacker alongside Moskal.

"We pride ourselves on how we play defense," said Proffitt, who was the defensive coordinator before taking over for Bryan Stortz as head coach last season. "We lost some really good players, and we're working on trying to replace them."

No single running back is likely to replace Schrader, who turned in an all-state season last fall. But the return of quarterback Noah Allgood, who took over midseason due to an injury, should help offset the loss.

A run-first — and second — team throughout this highly successful stretch, Lake Zurich could ask Allgood to air the ball out more often if the Bears don't run the ball as effectively as they're used to.

"He has a good arm," Proffitt said. "We didn't throw the ball much with him when he moved into the position because we weren't set up to do that. We were set up to run the football with Connor Schrader. You do what you're successful at."